1889 Louisville (Louisvilles, Colonels)
These renderings are based on visual documentation for uniform style and written documentation for color. Minor details may be undocumented or difficult to determine. An educated guess is made to complete the rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated 1889. Old Judge cabinet card of R Ehret (89-91). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo year can be confirmed as the studio background matches that shown in photo of player Vaughn, see below, and by the fact that 1889 was the only year both men played on the Louisville team together. Ehret wore a colored uniform in this photo and his uniform was most likely the one described as the “spring suit” in a preseason newspaper report from 1889. This spring uniform was described as blue in color. The belt and cap were also described as blue with white stripes. Detail view shows white stripes on belt. Detail view also shows padding on the pants in two sections. Based on photos from this year, the Louisville players wore a variety of padding configurations. Note that Ehret wore low cut shoes in this photo. Years Ehret with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo B
Dated 1889. Old Judge baseball card of F Vaughn (88, 89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo year can be confirmed as the studio background matches that shown in photo of player Ehret, see above, and by the fact that 1889 was the only year both men played on the Louisville team together. Detail view shows quilted padding continuing from knee to hip, and not divided in two sections as shown in the Ehret photo. Detail view possibly showed that quilted padding was on one leg only.
Photo C
Dated 1889. Old Judge cabinet card of P Tomney (88-90). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo year can be confirmed by studio background that matches that shown in the photos above. Player wore the blue uniform in this photo. Quilted padding on pants was in two sections. Detail view shows shirt buttons, shirt placket and a shirt pocket on the left breast.
Photo D
Dated 1889. Old Judge cabinet card of J Ewing (88, 89). Full view (minus photo frame) at left, detail view at right. Player wore the same blue uniform in this photo as shown in photos above. Detail view shows quilted padding on one leg only, similar to the Vaughn photo. The photo backdrop in this photo does not match other Old Judge photos from this year suggesting this photo was made during a different session.
Photo E
Dated September 7 or 9, 1889. Photo year of 1889 can be confirmed by appearance of players Shannon, Galligan and McDermott. These men only played with the team in 1889. The location where the photo was taken can be identified as the Jefferson Street Grounds, Philadelphia, the home field for Athletic. If the month stated in the photo caption was correct, this image was made on September 7 or September 9, 1889—the only two days in September that Louisville played in Philadelphia. On September 8, the two teams played in Gloucester, NJ. A September date can also be confirmed by the appearance of players Ryan and McDermott, who both signed with Louisville and joined the team by August 30, 1889. McDermott was the pitcher of record in the September 9 game in Philadelphia. A September date can also be further determined by the appearance of interim manager Bob Brown, who worked as an editor at the Louisville Courier-Journal and, according to a newspaper report from early September, “consented to take the Louisvilles east on their present trip.” Players wore a light gray or white uniform in this photo, with dark cap, belt and stockings. This may be the “summer suit” which was described in a preseason newspaper report from 1889 as being white with blue accents and blue stockings. Two players, standing on the far left and far right in this photo, wore pants with continuous quilted padding from knee to hip on both legs. Player Ehret, front row, second from right, wore a light-colored cap with white stripes. This may be the same cap shown in the Old Judge photo session of Ehret, see photo A. Ehret also wore low-cut shoes in both photos. One player, seated front row far right, wore a light colored belt, possibly the light blue belt shown in photos A thru D. Of the nine players shown, six wore short sleeves, one wore three-quarter length sleeves, and two wore white pullover sweaters.
Top row, from left: S Stratton (AA 88-91, NL 92-94), F Vaughn? (88, 89), (B Brown mgr 89), M McDermott (Aub NYSL 89, Lou 89) and E Flanagan? (Lwl/WB AtlA 89, Lou 89). Front: J Ryan (89-91), P Tomney (88-90), D Shannon (89), R Ehret (89-91) and J Galligan (Nor/NH AtlA 89, Lou 89). Player IDs from SABR, Pictorial History Newsletter, (January 2010, May 2010 and October 2010 issues). Contributing information from researchers Mark Fimoff, Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres and Carson Lorey. Identification of McDermott from Fimoff. Identification of Ryan from baseball-reference.com. Identification of Vaughn is unconfirmed as the player’s height is in question. However, the May 2010 issue of the SABR newsletter stated that “Vaughn was listed at 6’2” – taller than the 6’1” Scott Stratton back row far left in the team photo. [Vaughn] appears shorter than Stratton. But, we can’t see how their feet line up, and Stratton may be a bit more in the foreground. So, height can’t be used to conclusively.” Identification of Flanagan is also unconfirmed. However the recorded height and weight of Flanagan (6’1″, 190 lbs.) do seem appropriate for the player standing at far right in the photo. Flanagan was called a “shoulder-bound first baseman” when he was signed by Louisville in early September 1889. The identification of manager Brown comes from David Nemec, The Beer And Whiskey League (1994), according to the January 2010 SABR newsletter. This identification is confirmed by researcher Samoil who has discovered the newspaper report about Brown mentioned above. Two of the players who were recorded in the box score of the September 7 game were not shown in the team photo: H Raymond (88-91) and J Ewing (88, 89). Ewing was the pitcher in this game. Their absence may suggest the team photo was made on September 9, 1889. Player identifications for this photo were often misidentified in published works according to Fimoff. For example, Ryan was sometimes identified as Ewing, and Galligan was sometimes identified as Flanagan. Among other errors, the player standing at far right was often identified as C Wolf (82-91). Wolf’s absence in Philadelphia may have been why Louisville signed Flanagan. Years with team and Flanagan height and weight info from baseball-reference.com. McDermott and Ryan signing info, and Brown managerial info from The Sporting Life, September 4, 1889. Flanagan signing info from The Sporting Life, September 11, 1889. Box score info on the September 7 game from The Sporting Life, September 18, 1889. Box score info and Gloucester game info from the New York Herald, September 8, 1889. Information on Philadelphia game dates, the Jefferson Street Grounds, and McDermott as pitcher of record on September 9 from retrosheet.org. Original photo published in Athletic Sports in America, England and Australia (1889). Original photo by Levytype Co., Philadelphia.
Dated September 1889. Detail view of photo E. Detail view shows arched lettering on shirt and subtle horizontal bands on cap.
Photo F
Dated April 26, 1889. This sketch of Louisville players was published on this day as a scene from the Louisville-Kansas City home opener played on April 25, 1889, in Kansas City. Louisville made seven errors during the game. The players were depicted wearing a cap with horizontal bands and the city name across the shirt. From the Kansas City Times, April 26, 1889.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
September 1888: “The Louisvilles have already selected their uniforms for next season [1889], and they will be Jersey tights similar to those worn by the New Yorks. They will have two suits, one blue and the other white. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 1888, page 8.
February 1889: “Louisville will shake the nondescript brindle manure-colored uniforms which last season made the Colonels look like a lot of Work House vags, and come out in new togs this spring. The spring suit will be solid blue, with white stripes on belt, two white stripes on cap, and ‘Louisville’ in white letters across the breast. The summer suit will be the same as the other, except that the colors will be interchanged, the suit being white with blue trimmings. Blue stockings will be worn with both suits.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, February 24, 1889. Research from Don Stokes.
March 1889: “Measures for the new uniforms of all the players except Vaughn, Ramsey and Browning, have been received.” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, March 3, 1889, page 8.
March 1889: “The boys have a new uniform for Pete Browning. It is made of solid red calico, and there is no danger of Pete getting lost, for it has fifteen bells strung onto the shirt. This will suit the Gladiator exactly, for he likes to be heard as well as seen. Pete will probably wear it in the first game.” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, March 18, 1889, page 8.
March 1889: “The Louisvilles will wear their new uniforms today [March 24] in the game against the Eclipse.” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, March 24, 1889, page 13.
March 1889: “Billy Reccius received the new uniforms yesterday [March 28] and several of the players wore them at the park in the afternoon. They are navy blue with white trimmings. […] ‘Long John’ Ewing had his pantaloons thickly padded with sawdust in order that his form might show up to better advantage.” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, March 29, 1889, page 6.
March 30, 1889, Louisville v. Deppens, Louisville amateur team, at Louisville, exhibition game: “The Louisvilles wore their new uniforms yesterday [March 30].” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, March 31, 1889, page 4.
April 6, 1889, Louisville v. Deppens, exhibition game: “The new [Louisville] uniforms have been received and were worn in Saturday’s game with the Deppens. They are navy blue, with white trimmings.” In addition, a more editorialized report was also printed in the same issue: “The Louisvilles’ new uniforms are described as being in color the gayest, giddiest, dizziest blue that was ever seen.” From The Sporting Life, April 10, 1889. Research from Chuck McGill. Photographic evidence supports the notion that the blue color, described in the first snippet as navy, was actually a lighter and brighter shade of blue.
1889 Louisville uniform summary
Uniform: white, dark blue caps and stockings
First worn:
Photographed: team photo from early September
Described: February
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition:
Variations: also wore white cap with light blue bands
Other items: white turtleneck sweater
Home opener report: no, April 17 v. Kansas City
Uniform: all blue
First worn:
Photographed: player portraits from year
Described: February, March
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition:
Variations:
Team genealogy:
Louisville 1870s-1899
Louisville began as Eclipse, a semi-pro team in Louisville formed in the late 1870s. As Eclipse, they joined the American Association (AA) at its formation in 1882. The AA was a major league operating between 1882 and 1891. Eclipse was known as Louisville by 1884 and the team played in the AA through the 1891 season. The team joined the National League (NL) in 1892 when the AA and NL merged, and was disbanded after the 1899 season when the NL contracted from twelve to eight teams. Information from wikipedia and Ken Samoil.
Rendering posted: January 19, 2017
Diggers on this uniform: Andy Terrick, Carson Lorey, Chuck McGill, Don Stokes, Ken Samoil, Mark Fimoff, Nigel Ayres,